Once Upon a Shifter (25 page)

“I hope they made a wish,” Logan said.

“I think they did,” Dina replied, with a smile.

“Let’s release one ourselves,” Logan exclaimed. This was all the encouragement Dina needed, and she skipped over to the circus entertainers, pulling Logan along with her.

“What color?” a man in tiger face paint asked.

“Red,” they said at the same time. The man selected a lantern, lit the flame and handed it to them. They stood facing each other, holding onto two sides each.

“To you, me, and our future,” Logan whispered to Dina. She repeated his words and, together, they released the lantern.

Logan stood behind her, his arms around her waist, and they watched their lantern blowing into the velvety night, glowing red and leaving a fiery train in its wake. They kept their gaze on it, until it was a golden dot, no bigger than one of the stars. Dina let her weight fall against him, enjoying the sensation of being supported, and he nuzzled her hair.

“Part of me could stay like this forever,” he murmured. She didn’t need to ask what the other part of him wanted to do, as she could feel his hardness pressing against the cleft of her ass, driving her crazy.

Lauren and Connor joined the line of people waiting for a lantern, and Dina and Logan watched as they took their turn, full of happiness and excitement. When their lantern had become invisible too, Dina called to them, and they ran over.

“Hey! I haven’t seen you guys all day,” Lauren said. “Been having fun?”

“We certainly have,” Logan replied. Dina flashed Lauren a secret smile, indicating how much she liked Logan.

“Connor and I are just going to set off a lantern, and then I think we’re done for the day. So I’ll say goodnight to you guys.” Lauren stretched up to hug Logan, and squeezed her arms around Dina.

“Go get him, girl,” she whispered. “Connor’s been telling me all day how awesome he is, and I can tell you’ll be
so
well suited!” Connor hugged Dina, and Logan and Connor exchanged some kind of complicated handshake, and a rough, back-slapping hug, and Lauren and Connor walked off together.

“How are you getting home?” Logan asked Dina.

“Oh, by taxi,” she said.

“We could share, if you don’t mind a slight detour by the national park?” Logan suggested.

“That would be great,” Dina said, excited at the prospect of another half hour in his company.

As they walked out of the garden, Dina was a little regretful at leaving such a perfect, magical evening behind. There was a line of cars waiting in the driveway.

“Complimentary service, courtesy of Shiftr,” the guy organizing the cars said as they walked up. “The driver will take you anywhere you want to go, just tell him your destination.” They climbed into the luxurious sedan, and it pulled away from the house, tires crunching on the gravel.

Chapter Four

Dina and Logan sat close together on the car’s soft leather seats. Logan clasped her hand, letting the back of his hand rest on her thigh. The contact with his body was almost unbearable. She longed to unfasten her seatbelt and jump on top of him. Instead they sat calmly, chatting about their lives. He seemed to want to know the smallest details about her, asking her all about her family and her friends, her job, and where she lived. She answered all of his questions, but her mind was wandering, thinking about how hot his body had looked in his Shiftr photo, how much she wanted to see it in the flesh. Her mind constructed mini fantasies: him on top of her, thrusting inside her, his strong hands spreading her thighs.

She was so engrossed by him that she hadn’t noticed that the road had become a lot darker, the streetlights further apart. She’d been to the national park plenty of times before, but she didn’t recognize this road. Logan leaned forward to direct the driver, and the car took a sharp turn, and the road became a rough track.

“Funny, I don’t know this part,” she said.

“There’s a reason for that,” Logan said, his white teeth flashing in the dark. “We were-bears need our privacy from the human world, if we’re going to keep our existence a secret.” He spoke to the driver again, and the car made another turn, then came to a stop at the side of the road, beside a gap in a line of trees.

“Where’s your place?” she said, confused.

“Through the trees, a hundred yards back,” he said. “Some of the other guys and I have cabins back there.”

“That sounds really nice,” she said.

“It’s the best,” he said with a grin. He unfastened his seatbelt and turned to her. “It’s so hard for me to leave you here, so I’m going to kiss you goodnight quickly and go, before I lose all self-control.” His lips brushed hers, and he opened the car door. “Good night, beautiful,” he whispered. He climbed out of the car and closed the door. The driver began to pull away, and Dina watched as Logan strode into the dark woods. His kiss was still burning on her lips, and there was an unbearable ache between her thighs. But even more than that, she felt a hole, a vast emptiness in her heart, at being separated from him.

“Stop!” she yelled. The driver jumped and stepped hard on the brake.

“Sorry, ma’am?” he said.

“Hold on, I’ve made a mistake!” she said. She unfastened the seatbelt, and scrambled out of the car. She ran back to the clearing and stared into the woods, but she could no longer see anything.

“Logan!” she yelled.

“Dina?” came a voice from far away. A second later, she saw a flash of his white shirt and he came crashing back.

“What is it?” he said, panicked.

“Logan, take me home with you,” she said simply.

“Dina, if you come in here now, you’re not going to leave for several days. I hope you realize that,” he said.

“It’s a good thing there’s vacation from school next week,” she said, coquettishly. His face broke into the most beautiful smile she’d ever seen. He bounded over to the taxi and told the driver that she didn’t need a ride anymore, then he took her hand.

“Wait,” she said, as she began to stumble into the undergrowth in her heels. Logan paused and looked down at her feet.

“Oh, sorry,” he said with a laugh. With no hesitation, he bent down, swept her up, and strode off with her into the woods. Dina lolled in his arms in a daze; she hadn’t been carried since she was a small child, and she hadn’t thought it was possible to feel so small and vulnerable again. He looked at her tenderly as he walked.

“It’s just a little bit further,” he said, his breath a soft rumble. The woods looked entirely black to Dina. The meager light cast by the crescent moon left the night very dark, and she couldn’t see the trees at all, but Logan navigated the track with ease.

At last she could make out a row of cabins. Each had a small light above the door.

“This is mine,” Logan said stopping at the third one along. Three steps led up to a small veranda and a covered porch with an arched roof. Still managing to hold her up somehow, he rooted in his pocket for his keys and unlocked the door. Dina made to climb down, but Logan held onto her.

“No, I’m carrying you over this threshold, baby,” he said. Ensuring that she didn’t bump her head on anything, he brought her into the cabin, and gently laid her on the sofa. Then he flicked a light on. Dina looked around. It was way bigger than she’d imagined from the outside. The living room was spacious yet cozy, with rustic wooden furniture, a huge, antique-looking leather sofa, and homely rugs and animal skins spread across the floor. There was a big open fireplace, loaded up with logs for a colder evening. Lamps in the corners cast the room in a subtle orange glow. Logan sat down next to her, and she immediately fastened her lips onto his, kissing him more passionately than before. Her hands ran all over his broad shoulders, his huge biceps, and felt for his pecs beneath his shirt. He drew back, looking at her with wonder.

“Dina, we don’t have to do anything tonight. You can have my bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa,” he said.

“Logan, maybe it isn’t obvious, but I want you. I want you real bad,” she said, looking back at him with smoldering eyes. He hesitated for half a second, before throwing himself on her. He pushed her back against the sofa, and kissed her hard, his stubble chafing her skin, and his fingers tangling in her hair. He scooped her up and pulled her onto his lap, and as soon as her thigh made contact with his crotch, she felt his hardness, his need for her. His hands ran over her upper arms, into the v of her cleavage. Dizzy, drunk with desire, she swept her skirt up above her knees, turned to face him and straddled him. Now the bulge of his cock pressed right on that hot, aching place between her thighs, and a small sound escaped her lips. Logan’s hands hovered around her ass, as if uncertain whether he could touch her there, but as she pressed herself closer to him, his fingers sank into her flesh, pulling her close, inciting her to grind against him. His tongue snaked into her mouth, seeking out hers, circling it, with an insistent, hungry motion. She matched his urgency, sucking on his lips, lashing his tongue with her own. Dina had never felt so hungry, so unashamedly wanton before. He kissed and bit her neck, from one side to the other. They pulled at each other’s clothes, eager for skin-on-skin contact. She fumbled at his bow tie, eventually getting it unclipped, and threw it aside. Then, she opened the first four buttons on his shirt, wanting to get at his muscular chest. His skin felt unexpectedly soft beneath her fingers, as did his sprinkling of chest hair, and his muscles rippled. She needed more. Sitting back to give herself enough space, she opened his shirt all the way down. He pulled off his jacket, then his shirt, and she finally saw him, just the way he’d been in the photo. She ran her hands all over his upper body. She’d never touched big muscles before, and the feeling of the bulges and undulations was amazing.

“Your turn,” he growled, his voice harsh with desire. His hand went to the zipper at the back of her dress, and he pulled it all the way down, in a single motion. Gently, he eased the broad straps from her shoulders, and the entire front of the dress fell down, revealing her mint-green lace bra.

“Beautiful,” he murmured, bending his head to the sensitive skin of her décolletage. He made a trail of kisses along her collarbones, and down, into the valley of her cleavage. Hesitantly at first, and then more hungrily, he cupped her breasts in his hands. As soon as his thumbs grazed her nipples, they became twice as erect, begging to be taken into his mouth. His fingers hooked into the top of the lace cup, and he dragged it down, freeing her nipple. Dina watched as he brought his mouth to it, flicking his tongue over the tip, before fastening his lips around it. He sucked gently, and the sensation shot a burning path down to her clit. Hardly aware of what she was doing, she rubbed herself back and forth against his bulging, rock-hard crotch, every movement drawing waves of tingling heat. He pulled down the other cup of her bra and gave her other nipple the same treatment. With one breast in his mouth, and the other cupped in his strong hand, she was ready to combust with need. She could tell she was drenched, and she was probably leaving a wet mark on his pants, but she didn’t care. She needed him inside her so badly.

He went to unfasten her bra, but then he paused and looked up at her.

“Let’s do this properly,” he said. “I want to take you to bed, and treat you like the goddess you are.”

“Ok,” she said, looking at him in delight. He rearranged her bra straps, and she climbed off his lap and got to her feet awkwardly. Her dress slid to the floor and she stepped out of it. She was still wearing her heels. She shrugged to herself. They’d come off at some point. His gaze swept over her body, his eyes full of fire. He led her to the back of the living room and through a doorway. There was a short passageway, with two doors leading off it. He opened the right hand door, and took her into his bedroom. It was just as cozy as the living room, with bare wooden walls and a huge bed. The head and foot boards were made of intricately carved dark brown wood.

That was all Dina had time to observe before Logan took hold of her again. His hands moved frantically all over her waist, back and breasts, while he alternately nibbled at her neck and gave her hard, biting kisses on the lips, which left them tingling. He backed her onto the bed, until she was sitting down. Standing before her, he unfastened his pants and tugged them off. He was wearing snug, black undershorts, the kind she liked best, and the bulge of his erection was huge. His thighs were bulky and muscular, and covered with dark hair. He knelt down between her legs, holding each calf tenderly in his hand as he slipped her shoes off. She loved the way he was forcing himself to be gentle with her, although he was obviously half-crazed with desire.

He lifted her up, laid her down, so she was lying fully flat on the bed, and then he arched over her, his eyes darker than ever. His brow suddenly furrowed.

“What is it?” she asked in alarm.

“It’s my bear,” he said. “It’s driving me on to mate with you, and claim you as my own.”

“It is?” she said, intrigued.

“It’s so hard to hold it back,” he said in a frustrated tone.

“But you don’t have to hold it back.”

“I do, Dina,” he said. “I want to take my time with you. Get to know every inch of your body.” She wriggled happily. No-one had said that to her before.

He let his weight come down on top of her, and she gasped at the sensation of full body contact. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply again. She curled her legs around his, drawing him closer to her, and their bodies seemed to meld into one, sliding together as if they were made for each other. Underneath her back, he reached for the clasp on her bra, and she arched to allow him to get at it. Slowly, reverently, he slid the straps off her shoulders, and lifted the bra off completely, exposing her large breasts, and swollen, aching nipples to his gaze. With a soft growl, he fell on them again, sucking harder than before, taking more of her breast into his mouth. She moaned, and lifted her thighs, wrapping her legs around his waist. He gave a deeper growl and his pelvis gave little jerks.